It has been some time since my last release, Almost Paradise. I have been working on two very different projects since that time. Iffy Eats Monsters for Breakfast will be my first middle grade story. It is a spinoff from the Infernal Fall Series. I’ll talk more about that at another time. The other story I’ve worked on is Melodiel’s Rhapsody which is a short story to be included in the Allies of Majesty Chronicles Vol 1.

I’ve never worked on a story quite like this one. Allies of Majesty is an RPG where angels and demons are at war in the unseen realm. There are a line of other authors included for this anthology, and the artwork looks amazing. So check it out if you like, and although the Kickstarter campaign is over, you can still support it if you want. Click the image below to view it if you want more details.

About Melodiel’s Rhapsody… The title came before the story did. In the line of angels and demons, you have warriors, minstrels, and ministers, which could be a mix of two or even three. I thought a warrior-minstrel could prove interesting. So I created the character Melodiel, who is named after melody. He’s a leader of two other warriors in this short story, Urimiel and Sersimi. I have no idea how I came up with their names, but I’ve grown to appreciate them.

The story takes place in an unnamed town in Appalachia, and a lot is going on. My initial thought was to compose the entire story as a song, and while I do have some music in here, this is, for the most part, a story written in prose. It took some time to fit the story within the bounds of the Allies of Majesty world, but with some great collaboration with Anthony Diastello, it came together quite nicely. He was even nice enough to let me break some rules, which is great because I’m a habitual rulebreaker at heart. And while it may be a short story, there are chills, thrills, comedy, and a lot of adventure in this thing.

The plan is to release this book in time for Realm Makers 2025, which is in July. At the time of writing this, it’s only two months away. I wish him well on that. Although I’m finished with this particular story, I will be cheering for PureFun Media to get this book ready in time. I’ll let you know when it debuts, and when I have permission to share an excerpt from the story, I’ll update this post.